Q4 What Can We Do to Raise Awareness Lessons

Guiding Question #4 What can we do to raise awareness about the health of the Sound?

Sounding Off on the Puget Sound	Lesson Focus x Content Knowledge: Roles of community based action/service organizations x Content Skill(s): gathering information, analyzing and evaluating x Thinking Skill(s): Analysis, Evaluation x Habits of Mind: Questioning and Problem Posing, Gathering Data through the Senses
Lesson Title: Making a Difference-Analyzing Community Action Groups Implementation Time: 1-2 days Resource(s): Websites for various community organizaitons Materials Needed: Questioning Toolkit; sample web site
Learner Outcome(s): What will happen for learners as a result of this lesson? Students will apply questioning strategies to analyze and evaluate community service organizations focused on Puget Sound or environmental health.
Procedure: 1. Identify a community service organization with a website to model elements involved in deciding whether someone might want to participate in that organization. 2. Begin by having students share with partner what they notice from the organization’s home page. Share. (Initial observations might include what can be learned from the web address (URL) about the organization’s purpose; initial observations of pictures and texts on site’s home page) 3. Pose a general question: What might someone want to know about an organization before joining? (Students record questions with partners) Next ask partners to join with another partner group. Combine lists and then challenge groups to ask further questions building on initial questions. 4. Refer students back to sample site’s home page. What links might offer answers to some questions? 5. Assign students organizations to research and answer questions (use class generated questions, following list or a combination). 6. Post responses (online table, such as Google docs) 7. Review evaluation graphic organizer. Then have students develop criteria for determining which organization they might wish to get involved. 8. Have individuals compare five different organizations. 9. Share as class which organizations students might be most interested in checking out. (Encourage students to make phone or e-mail contact with organization and share back with class).
Closure/Assessment: Students share as class which organizations students might be most interested in checking out. Students record a reflection on their online “blogs” about what they learned about service organizations and which, if any, might be worth learning more about. (Encourage students to make phone or e-mail contact with organization and share back with class). Possible Questions (Compare with what students generate in determining expectations for what students should research regarding each service organization). 1. Identify organization and web address 2. When was this organization founded? 3. What is the primary purpose of this organization? 4. Who is sponsoring this organization? 4a. What other groups are linked or partnering with this organizations? 4b. Is this a private or public organization? 4c. Is this organization a for-profit or non-profit organization? 4d. Where is this organization located? (is it part of a national organization?) 5. What are some of the specific projects or issues this organization is working on? 6. Does this organization hold regular meetings? When? Where? 7. How does one join or get involved? 7a. Are there requirements or restrictions? 8. What is a contact address (e-mail or street) or contact person to find out more about this organization? Puget Sound Service Organizations Adobe a Stream Foundation http://www.streamkeeper.org/ * Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines http://www.shorelinealliance.org/ --Mud Up- http://www.mudup.org/ Audubon Society, South King County http://www.rainieraudubon.org/ Bicycle Alliance of Washington http://www.bicyclealliance.org/ Bike Works http://www.bikeworks.org/ Cascade Land Conservancy http://www.cascadeland.org/ Center for Whale Research http://www.whaleresearch.com Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound http://puget.usgs.gov/ Conservation Northwest http://www.conservationnw.org/centralcas/the-partnership Department of Ecology, State of Washington http://www.ecy.wa.gov/ Earth Corps http://www.earthcorps.org/index.php Earth Ministry http://www.earthministry.org/ Earth Share of Washington http://www.esw.org/ Environmental Coalition of South Seattle http://www.ecoss.org/ Friends of the Cedar River Watershed http://www.cedarriver.org/about/index.shtml Green Corps http://www.greencorps.org/ Mid Puget Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group http://www.midsoundfisheries.org/ Mountains to Sound Greenway http://www.mtsgreenway.org/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration http://www.noaa.gov/ National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org/ Nature for Conservancy http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/washington/ Northwest Straits http://www.nwstraits.org/ Restore America’s Estuaries http://www.estuaries.org/ Shared Strategy for Puget Sound http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/ One Northwest http://www.onenw.org/ Pacific Marine Research http://home.comcast.net/~janatpmr/ People for Puget Sound http://pugetsound.org/ Puget Sound Clean Air Agency http://www.pscleanair.org/default.aspx Puget Soundkeeper Alliance http://www.pugetsoundkeeper.org/ Puget Sound Partnership http://www.psp.wa.gov/ Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership http://www.pugetsoundnearshore.org/ Puget Sound Restoration Fund http://www.restorationfund.org/ Shared Salmon Strategy http://www.sharedsalmonstrategy.org/ The Trust for Public Land http://www.tpl.org/tier2_rl.cfm?folder_id=262 Washington Environmental Council http://www.wecprotects.org/ Whale Museum http://www.whalemuseum.com/

Sounding Off on the Puget Sound	Lesson Focus x Content Knowledge: The State of the Puget Sound Ways to Influence x Content Skill(s): Effective Communication Civic Participation x Thinking Skill(s): Observing Synthesizing x Habits of Mind: Creating, Imagining, Innovating Taking Responsible Risks Thinking Flexibly
Lesson Title: Sounding Off Projects Implementation Time: Two Weeks (Time in and outside of class to create projects; time to share projects with the targeted audiences) Resource(s): Background knowledge from unit Materials Needed: Varies according to specific project choices; Project Overview, Project Rubric, Possible Audiences/Possible Products, Work Plan template, Project Updates
Learner Outcome(s): What will happen for learners as a result of this lesson? Students will explore the expectations for the Sounding Off projects, select their project work team, and begin to create a vehicle for effectively communicate concerns regarding the health of the Puget Sound, including action steps to make a difference.
Procedure: 1. Share with students that over the next one or two weeks, they will have the opportunity to take what they have learned about the state of the Puget Sound and to incorporate their learning into a project where they will persuade a targeted audience to take action steps to improve the health of the Puget Sound. Tell students that they will select their audience and create an original product that communicates their concerns about the Sound and provides a way for the audience to make a positive difference for the local environment. 2. Distribute the Sounding Off! Project Guidelines and review the general expectations. Share that students may self select into groups of 2, 3, or 4 students. Each group will select their own medium for communication. Students will want to check in with each other to see who is interested in what. For example, some students may want to create a film while others want to create works of art and others want to put on a play. Students will want to be with other students who have similar interests. 3. Once groups are formed, review with the students the thinking skill of synthesis. Compare to the skill of analysis used at the beginning of the unit. Analysis is breaking things into parts while synthesis is creating a new whole. They are opposite processes. Note that students will want to spend time brainstorming their message and their medium prior to committing to a particular direction. They should consider all of the options for products and think about to whom they want to convey a message. As a class, brainstorm products and audiences with the students. (See Sample List) Emphasize the creative aspects of synthesis. If desired, use a program like Inspiration to record and share the ideas. Procedure: 1. Distribute the project rubric and review the specific performance criteria. Share that students will have approximately two weeks to create their projects. They will present their projects to an appropriate audience prior to the end of the school year. 2. Provide the Design Template in a digital format to the project teams. They should begin to identify the various tasks they need to complete in order to have a finished product, ready to share with their selected audience. 3. Share that you will track each team’s project digitally by having the teams post progress updates to their digital learning community site. Provide an electronic version of the project update reflection tool and ask students to complete for the work they have done today. Closure/Assessment: Instruct the students to post their team, the medium they have selected, and their targeted audience to the digital learning community site. They will have the opportunity to receive feedback from other students in the class as well as give suggestions to other project teams, practicing the skills of Collaborative Workers who are accountable and who build on other people’s thinking. Ask students to complete the project update form and to determine next steps in their work. What will they do at home to reach their goals? What will they do at school? Monitor the students’ progress and provide support as needed.

Sounding Off on the Puget Sound Project

Overview: Your job is to persuade a targeted audience to take action that will preserve and protect the Puget Sound. You will work as a member of a team and will identify a specific population for effectively communicating a message that incorporates concerns about the current state of the Sound and that shares a call to action. Your goal is to influence people to make a difference in improving the Puget Sound’s present and future health. Once you have identified your audience, you will want to determine what medium you will use to convey your message. Your medium may include the arts, technology, and/or speaking/writing. You are encouraged to be creative and persuasive!
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Example products may include ideas like creating a picture book to teach primary children about the state of the sound and what they can do to improve its health, a documentary film that is designed to convince political action groups to pass legislation preserving water quality, an infomercial to post on the web educating community members about our interdependence with the health of the Sound, or an art display that can rotate through our schools showing the beauty and wonder of the Sound, asking people to protect this precious resource.

Required Specifications:

1. Identifying a targeted audience
2. Identifying a medium to convey your message (drama, painting, sculpture, movie making, music, writing, speaking, other)
3. Drafting your message:
a. Sharing information regarding the current state of the Puget Sound, drawing on your background knowledge
b. Incorporating the concept of Sustainability
c. Persuading your audience of the need to take action
d. Sharing ways that your audience can make a difference in improving the health of the Puget Sound
4. Using your identified medium to convey your message (include both a written and a visual component)
5. Sharing your product with an intended and authentic audience
6. Reflect on your experience, identifying celebrations and areas for growth

Evaluation Criteria:

Quality Producer: Completes all required project specifications
Effective Communicator: Clearly relates the current state of the Sound and provides specific ways the targeted audience can take action
Complex Thinker: Uses creativity to convey the message; takes responsible risks
Collaborative Worker: Shares responsibility with other members of the project team; is accountable as an individual member of the team
Self-Directed Learner: Shows persistence; uses time effectively; self reflects
Community Contributor: Demonstrates civic responsibility by advocating for a call to action that enhances the environment of the Puget Sound

Sounding Off! Project Rubric

	4	3	2	1
Quality Producer	Completes all project specifications: Ÿ Sharing info about the current state of the Sound Ÿ Incorporating the concept of Sustainability Ÿ Persuading the audience of the need for action Ÿ Providing ways to make a difference	Completes most of the project specifications: Ÿ Sharing info about the current state of the Sound Ÿ Incorporating the concept of Sustainability Ÿ Persuading the audience of the need for action Ÿ Providing ways to make a difference	Completes some of the project specifications: Ÿ Sharing info about the current state of the Sound Ÿ Incorporating the concept of Sustainability Ÿ Persuading the audience of the need for action Ÿ Providing ways to make a difference	Completes few of the project specifications: Ÿ Sharing info about the current state of the Sound Ÿ Incorporating the concept of Sustainability Ÿ Persuading the audience of the need for action Ÿ Providing ways to make a difference
Effective Communicator	Uses effective persuasive techniques for intended audience	Uses appropriate persuasive techniques for intended audience	Minimal use of persuasive techniques for intended audience	Little or no effort to persuade intended audience
Collaborative Worker Self Directed Learner	Ÿ Students shared equal responsibility for all aspects of project Ÿ Students worked independently without needing teacher supervision Ÿ Individual accountability was clearly apparent	Ÿ Students shared equal responsibility for most aspects of project Ÿ Students needed minimal teacher supervision Ÿ Individual accountability was apparent	Ÿ Students shared equal responsibility for some aspects of project Ÿ Students needed some teacher supervision Ÿ Individual accountability was somewhat apparent	Ÿ Little shared responsibility; one person does most of the work Ÿ Students needed continuous teacher supervision Ÿ Individual accountability was lacking
Complex Thinker	Ÿ Exceptional Creativity Ÿ Takes responsible risks Ÿ Exceptional depth of thought Ÿ Thinks flexibly and with originality	Ÿ Mostly creative Ÿ Takes some degree of risk Ÿ Consistent depth of thought Ÿ Thinks flexibly	Ÿ Some evidence of creativity Ÿ Little evidence of risk taking Ÿ Some depth of thought Ÿ Thinks with some flexibility	Ÿ Little evidence of creativity Ÿ Conventional approach; no risk taking Ÿ Little depth of thought Ÿ Little flexible thinking
Community Contributor	Incorporates a meaningful and appropriate Call to Action for the targeted audience with clear and complete direction	Incorporates an appropriate Call to Action for the targeted audience with direction	Incorporates a Call to Action for the targeted audience that is somewhat clear and doable	Call to Action is vague and may not be appropriate for the targeted audience
Possible Audiences	Possible Products
Science, Social Studies or LA Teachers	Website
Children	Picture Book
Parents	PowerPoint
Community Members	Film
Legislators	Article
Service Organizations	Photo Essay
Political Action Groups	Graphic Story
K-12 Students	Cartoons
Scientists	Narrated Interviews
	Board Game
	Paintings/Murals
	Play
	Short Story
	Persuasive Speech

Sounding Off! Project Work Plan

Team Members:

Project Name: Targeted Audience:



Project Completion Plan:

Task	Person Responsible	Resource Needs	Deadline	Completed

Please post updates showing your progress on our Sounding Off! Project page.

Sounding Off! Project Update

Team Members:



Date:


1. Today we completed the following tasks:




2. Our next step is to work on the following:




3. We are feeling good about:




4. We are feeling challenged by:




5. We need help with:




Please post your update to the Digital Learning Community site.